Chapter 25: River Pack Diplomacy

Words : 1391 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 25: River Pack Diplomacy Aiden Silver POV The arrow whizzed past my ear so close I felt the feathers brush my hair. "Get down!" I shouted, pushing Lily behind the fallen log as more arrows rained from the trees around us. We’d been walking the forest road to meet the River Pack leaders when the attack started. "Who’s shooting at us?" Lily whispered, pressing close to my back. "I don’t know, but they’re not trying to miss." Another arrow thudded into the wood above our heads. My mind raced through options. Rogues? River Pack fighters testing us? Or something worse? The arrows stopped suddenly. In the quiet that followed, I heard footsteps approaching through the underbrush. Multiple sets, moving carefully but not trying to hide their position. "Come out, Silver Pack wolves," a deep voice called. "We know you’re there." I recognized the voice - River Pack Alpha Jake Morrison. Luna’s uncle. My stomach tightened with worry. Why was he hitting us? "Stay behind me," I told Lily, then stood slowly with my hands exposed. "Alpha Morrison. This is unexpected." Jake stepped into view with five River Pack warriors, all holding bows with arrows ready. His face was grim, eyes cold in a way I’d never seen before. "Unexpected?" he snarled. "You bring that cursed omega to our territory and call it unexpected?" My protective instincts flared. "Lily is under my pack’s care. She’s done nothing wrong." "Nothing wrong?" Jake laughed bitterly. "She destroyed my niece’s future! Luna was going to become your Luna, unite our packs through marriage. Now what do we have?" I felt Lily tense behind me. The guilt she carried about Luna’s situation still weighed on her, even though none of it was her fault. "Luna made her own choices," I said carefully. "The mate mark doesn’t lie." "The mate mark," Jake spat. "Convenient magic that appeared right when an omega needed power. How do we know she didn’t fake it?" "You can’t fake a Triple Moon Mark," I responded. "Your own pack historians would tell you that." "Our historians are dead," Jake said quietly. The words hit me like a physical blow. "What?" "Three days ago. Rogues attacked our main village. They targeted our adults first - the ones who carry our pack’s knowledge and history." Jake’s voice cracked slightly. "My father was among them." I felt Lily gasp behind me. Elder Morrison had been one of the most respected wolves in the area, known for his wisdom and fairness. "Jake, I’m sorry. We had no idea-" "Of course you didn’t!" he shouted. "You’ve been too busy playing with your new omega toy to notice what’s happening to your allies!" The insult made my temper flare, but I forced myself to stay cool. Grieving dogs often lashed out at the wrong targets. "We came here to discuss the alliance between our packs," I said. "If you’re facing rogue attacks, we want to help." "Help?" Jake’s laugh was harsh. "Like you helped Luna? Like you helped when we needed you most?" I felt confused. "We never got any requests for help. When did you ask us?" "We sent three messengers over the past week," one of the River Pack fighters spoke up. "None returned." A chill ran down my spine. Three missing messengers, combined with what Brock had found about missing pack members and Shadow Wolves... this was all connected somehow. " Jake, I swear on my pack’s honor, we never got any messages. If we had-" "Your pack’s honor means nothing now," Jake interrupted. "Not when you choose magic tricks over real alliances." Behind me, Lily suddenly stepped forward. "May I speak?" "Lily, no," I warned, but she moved to stand beside me. "Alpha Morrison," she said softly. "I can feel your pain. The loss of your father, the fear for your pack. It’s like a dark cloud around you." Jake’s eyes narrowed. "Don’t try your omega manipulation on me, girl." "I’m not trying to manipulate anyone," Lily responded. "I’m just telling you what I sense. You’re not really angry at me or Aiden. You’re scared." "I’m not scared of anything!" Jake growled, but his voice wavered. "You’re scared because the rogues killed your historians first," Lily continued gently. "That means they knew exactly who to target. Someone gave them information about your pack’s flaws." The River Pack warriors traded worried glances. I realized Lily was right - random rogue attacks didn’t target specific people with that kind of precision. "You think we have a traitor," Jake said slowly. "I think you have the same problem we do," Lily answered. "Someone’s been intercepting texts between our packs. Someone wanted us separated from each other when the real attack came." Jake dropped his bow slightly. "What real attack?" Before anyone could answer, howls emerged from the direction of the River Pack settlement. Not celebration howls or welcome calls - these were warning cries, full of terror and pain. "The settlement!" one of the fighters shouted. Jake’s face went white. "It’s happening again. The rogues are back." More howls joined the first, creating a chorus of grief that made my wolf pace anxiously inside me. Whatever was hitting the River Pack settlement was big and organized. "We have to help them," I said instantly. "This could be a trap," Jake responded, though his voice lacked conviction. "How do we know you’re not working with the rogues?" "Because I’m going to run toward the danger to help your people," I said simply. "Rogues wouldn’t do that." Lily grabbed my arm. "Aiden, if this is connected to the Shadow Wolves Brock found, we might be walking into something worse than rogues." She was right, but I couldn’t ignore dogs in danger. "Then we face it together." Jake studied us for a long moment as the howls continued. Finally, he nodded grimly. "If you’re lying to me, I’ll kill you both myself. But my pack comes first." We raced through the forest toward the River Pack settlement, the sound of battle getting louder with each step. Smoke began to rise above the trees ahead of us. "There!" Jake pointed as we topped a hill. Below us, the River Pack village was under attack. But these weren’t regular rogues. Dark shapes moved between the buildings - creatures that seemed to absorb light around them, leaving lines of shadow in their wake. "Shadow Wolves," I breathed. "What are Shadow Wolves?" Jake demanded. "Worse than rogues," Lily answered, her Triple Moon mark beginning to glow slightly through her sleeve. "They corrupt everything they touch." As we watched, one of the shadow creatures touched a River Pack fighter. The wolf instantly stopped fighting his fellow pack members and turned to attack them instead. "They’re controlling our people," Jake said in fear. "We need a plan," I started to say, but Lily was already moving. "There’s no time," she called back. "Every second we wait, more of your pack falls under their control." She ran down the hill toward the chaos, her mark now blazing with silver light. Jake and I shared a look of mutual understanding - whatever our differences, we had to protect her. We chased after Lily, but as we reached the edge of the settlement, more Shadow Wolves appeared from the smoke. They surrounded us, cutting off our way to help the River Pack. The lead Shadow Wolf stepped forward, its red eyes sparkling with evil intelligence. When it spoke, its voice was like grinding stone. "Perfect," it said, looking directly at Lily. "The Triple Moon bearer comes to us freely. Our master will be pleased." Lily’s mark sparked brighter, and suddenly I understood with terrible clarity - this whole thing had been a trap. The intercepted messages, the attack on the River Pack, even Jake’s anger... all of it intended to get Lily here. "Run," I told her quickly. But it was too late. The Shadow Wolves were already closing in, and behind us, I could hear more corrupted River Pack wolves coming, no longer in control of their own minds. We were surrounded, outnumbered, and facing an enemy that could turn our friends against us with a single touch. The Shadow Wolf smiled, showing teeth like black glass. "Welcome to your new home, Triple Moon bearer. You’re going to help us wake something that’s been sleeping far too long."

Chapter 25: River Pack Diplomacy

Comments (0)